Nonek

If referencing the conflict of 1982 I would say not particularly, the islanders remained as before the conflict staunchly loyal to their British origins, and there was not a large enough Argentinean presence to kick out or bully. That said the islands history is long and wracked with circumstance, so I cannot be sure which war you are referencing.

There is probably some now non existent tribe that "discovered" the islands back in history, if not then it was probably first noted by Portugese mariners. All of them have nothing whatsoever to do with the people who are living there now, and they should be the only ones deciding their own fate, as they have clearly and unequivocally done. Rule by an unwanted foreign power for the sake of a particular group of settlers (one of many) from centuries past is rather absurd.

Simple concepts over-elaborated, brevity is not their enemy.

I've got to say I did like the hints that were handed out over the course of the game in Arcanum, that the world had been involved in some kind of metaphysical coexistence with another realm of pure thought and magic, which might possibly be the void, and that this interaction had caused the supernatural selection process of Arcanum. It was handled very subtly, but with a pleasing pay off, as I was left wondering what effect the dwarves machine you use to return to Arcanum would have on the world. The broken world of Dungeon Siege 3's 10th Legion causeways also fascinated me as well, hinting at far more than it revealed. The shadow realm of Mask of the Betrayer is also of course absolutely brilliant, a refreshingly bold move on the developers part, to make that mechanic so central to the story, reminded me of Raziels spectral plane in the Legacy of Kain games.

Oh sweet Lord yes please.

If handled poorly I agree they can be immensely fourth wall breaking, however I think Mr Sawyer does this quite well, I was pleasantly surprised by another branching of Ravels incarnations being present in the dockside prologue of Icewind Dale 2, and it fit seamlessly.

Wouldn't mind a little intro/tutorial vignette before the Event befalls us, a nod to our past lives and motivations, if it fits in with what the devs are aiming for. If there are masses of backgrounds, feats and skills to choose from at character creation however I don't see how every variation can be easily catered for, unless we get some sort of forced implementation. Drafted, enslaved or what have you, which I usually am not exactly a fan of.

Lets see there's Torment, Ultima iv-vii, the Witchers, The Sith Lords, New Vegas, Mask of the Betrayer, Krondor, and a few other real oldies. I guess what appeals to me about them is not just the writing, though a logical and well plotted narrative is something I consider to be essential, but the sense of a living and internally consistent world. Take Torment for example: Why would Nameless wear heavy armour when a little trinket can achieve the same task as the heaviest of harness, or Grace who naturally in rebelling against her heritage chooses to become a puritanical seeker of mental sensation. The Transcendant Ones simple desire to kill you once more at the cost of a companions life and send you back to begin again, thus extending the cycle that ensures his longevity. With aid from Nordom you can even realise that your memories are not lost with each death but are taken by Him and his shadows, though you can work this out yourself if you pay attention to the previous incarnations speaking of being deathless and yet maintaining their personality. Yes as well as logical, well plotted narratives, and internally consistent worlds that one can easily lose themseleves in I also consider subtlety of presentation to be something desirable: Whether in the presentation of underlying themes such as the moral absolutism of Warriors of Destiny or the nature of monstrosity in the Witcher. The presentation of characters, such as the tormented and conflicted cast of Torment or the many faults, strengths and ideals that motivate the players in the Sith Lords, and the reasonable motivations that drive the Witchers antagonists to such depths of depravity. Edit: Oh and Severance because the combat system still hasn't been bested, immensely enjoyable to thrash a goblin with its chums limbs.

Finally finished the big stodgy main course of Neverwinter Nights 2, now on to the delightfully sinful, rich and dark dessert of Mask. Yum, yum.

Null. There is a man who stands on the street corner, dressed in the rags of a beggar and stinking of sweat and urine he would seem to be just another member of the great unwashed masses, but something is different about him. Maybe it is his thousand yard stare, his stillness, the thugs who do not bother him or maybe the space that everybody maintains from his presence. He stands out, even on the most crowded of streets, and he is repellent. Even watching him causes your ire to rise, and disgust to build in your throat, something about him is deeply unnatural. A Cipher passing by will suffer far worse symptoms, he will grow sick and dizzy, and have to take cover behind the walls of his art while the dead eyes of the Null turn in his direction. The man thing will begin to walk through the parting crowds intent on his prey and the Cipher will try to run, not fight or strike out but just get away, for what he sees coming towards him is simply death. Nothing living stands there, there is no soul inhabiting that body, only a terrible will and a hint of some cancerous presence. If the Null should lose its prey then it will simply come to a stop and stand waiting once more, patient and still. If the creature should touch the Cipher however, with as little as a finger, then they shall duel for a single moment of eternity, and if the creature wins then two Null shall stand where there was once one, before walking of in opposite directions. If the Cipher manages to stave off the creatures mental assault and maintain the sanctity of his mind, then the Null will stand idly by and wait for a less stubborn foe, while the Cipher staggers away sickened and weak. The Cipher will not talk about it, only the ocassional mad man has muttered ought of the Null. Telling tales of minds that were overtaken by the darkness beyond the stars, of wills broken reaching too far into their own souls and beholding the infinite, of a parasitical gestalt entity that swarms and multiplies under the very noses of humanity. Lies, fever dreams or truth who can tell?

Aye these modern bloody millionaires with their space trips and their technological innovations, in my day we made do with champagne, laudanum, societal repression and expensive escorts, and we were thankful for it i'll have you know!

Sorry, I loved me some Ultima back in the day but I like to do my RPG's in the old fashioned way, anti-social and antiquated. I'm also not financially supporting a multi millionaire, who can pop off into space ocassionally.

I'd be perfectly happy if they dropped the Torment name before the game came out, they'll have got the backing by that time and established that this is a spiritual successor, liked Dragon Age used Baldurs Gate as a namecheck. Numenera is a more than good enough name on its own, and certainly sounds very interesting as a gameworld, so if they are successful and manage to secure a sequel it would make sense to have it be another Numenera titled game, rather than Torment. Still not a big thing to me, i'll gladly Paypal £35 for any new RPG that's not following the same trajectory as most of the AAA developers, they don't seem to want to cater to my tastes.

This is a brilliant idea, don't know if it's implementable but I like it. How about the Dane Axe as sported by the Vikings and Saxon huscarls, a very light, thin but broad blade having a perk such as: Butchery (double damage against lightly armoured and un-armoured foes.) Perfect for rogues and the mounts of cavalry.

I'm in the same boat as the OP in that I was never as impressed with BG as others were, i'd just finished a mammoth Ultima runthrough (iv-viii) when I first picked it up and the comparison was not flattering, there were a whole host of features and interactivity that were missing from the Infinity engine. Interactivity with the enviroment, weather, npc schedules, vittles etcetera, etcetera, the genre seemed to have taken a giant step back. Then again in truth I never particularly cared for the Forgotten Realms setting, too overpowered, and D&D while a nice starter system just grates on you the more experience you have with it. Still BG3 was better and Torment was sublime.

Okay we'll have your tax dodgers but please take back Madonna. Pretty please.

I used the term Evil Ascendant for EA Tale, but I can't claim that's mine, I stumbled upon it on the Witcher forums a while back.

I guess i'm just old fashioned that in a time of diminishing returns and sales I can't see any reason to be restricting players access to products, trying to intrude on their passtimes or dictating the times when they can access it. In my mind if sales are slumping, then pile it high and sell it cheap on the players terms, not on your own. They're the ones with the wallet, and should be respected and catered to not blamed. Seems only GOG does this.

The old Evil Ascendant certainly seem to have a knack for alienating potential customers, then again they're not alone in that, seems most publishers want their customers to abide by their rules rather than pleasing them. Strange business practise.

That does look very nice, hopefully the narrative, plotting and characters can match the visual splendour.

I've only ever fielded one what I would consider truly evil antagonist, a little old man, a clerk and administrator for a strategically important border province. His perfect penmanship on imperial decrees led to truly evil consequences, and he knew it, he was racist, narrow minded and prejudiced and also a coward who disdained any of the dirty work that his edicts necessitated. That said he was also very clever and an extremely efficient governor for the imperial province he ruled. In statistical terms he was nothing, a low level pen pusher, but his words could and did bring devastation upon his enemies and those who happened to be in his way. When he was finally bearded in his lair by the pc's he simply continued writing in one of his innumerable ledgers, while reciting a list of the players family, friends, estates and holdings. They retreated and had to begin an entire new quest line to get away from his retribution, becoming Robin Hood like freedom fighters, bleeding the province of its wealth, garrisons and power, until they could strike back. I had given them the choice to work for the governor, as stooges of his reign and perhaps undo the evil of his reign from within, but they were pridefully dismissive of his offer and chose a glamorous life of freedom. They were not even particularly clever in their opposition to his reign and incurred numerous civilian casualties during their rebellion, which they shrugged off as necessary. I even gave numerous hints as to the barbarians scouting out the province which they failed to heed, and so I had no choice other than to continue with the most logical course of action. They struck back and found that he had commited suicide after being informed of his imminent replacement as imperial governor, they were implicated in his death when spotted fleeing the scene. Shortly thereafter the barbaric horde beyond the border invaded the weakened and leaderless province, and despite all of the previous governors harshness and draconian rule, the people accepted that his governorship was mana from heaven in comparison. Rape, slaughter, banditry and enslavement was the rule of thumb under the barbarians reign, with the "heroes" being judged as despised villains for killing the good old governor, and hunted by imperial decree for the massive price placed on their heads. The players absolutely hated me, but I had almost a dozen different endings written up for that campaign, and it was their actions that had formed their present predicament, so I don't know whether the governors evil or the players stupidity did the greater harm in that situation. In the next campaign however they began to think about what their actions entailed, and what options they actually had in regards to dealing with the antagonists presented to them, and they became very smart. Edit: I suppose that it was the failures to heed their own methods that led to the sub optimal ending, they became so obsessed with achieving their aim that they abandoned any notion of morality. One could argue that it is always the means and the journey that are important, and that the ending is decided by that rather than even the best of intentions.

The Jack in the Green. The Jacks are Druids who minister to the needs of city folk, an idea that appears strange to many at first, until the Jack looks at the grass sprouting through the cobblestones, taps those stones with the heel of his staff sparking fire, points to the weathervane spinning in the wind above his head, watches that wind blow the wooden shingle from a rooftop, shatter on the ground sending rats running and a cat into pursuit. Then he leans forward, taps you on the chest and says. "I minister to all life and animals, even ones so proud as man!" He walks away with his hand brushing the worked stone of a house, and you see it grow strong and firm under his brief ministration, remembering that it is granite, born from the heart of the earth. The crowds of the street part unconsciously as he passes, and the fruits of a peddlers cart ripen and shed their bruising, while a goodwife exclaims over the sweetness of the well water this morning.

Apparently the playing area is in and around Novigrad capital of Redania, The Skellige Islands a viking like archipelago famous for their hatred of Nilfgaard, and the No Mans land of the war with Nilfgaard. @Alanschu, i'm not sure the phrasing remains a little cryptic, no changing backstory only changing characters, then again I suppose you could represent an import through the characters and quests appearing to the protagonist, would be very immediate rather than expository.

Little alarmed over no changing backstory, our decisions were quite diverse in Assassins of Kings, still I suppose one could represent those choices through the appearance or exclusion of certain characters.

I am still a walking extinction event for endangered species. I am incapable of losing a tooth, messing up my hair or being scarred despite hundreds of melee's. I am stronger and more experienced at fighting than a seven foot tall pirate, who wasn't raised in english aristocratic luxury. I am incapable of gaining muscle, despite any exertion, and will remain a delicate malnourished underwear model. I am Lara Croft...and even i'd have preferred another Legacy of Kain game.